Red Lightning

Thomas Burch is ready to retire. After long years and plenty of dangerous missions with the CIA, he is not exactly looking forward to a new life as a regular citizen in late 1992. He's a widower and estranged from his children—the result of his workaholic ethic. That's why a new mission, a covert mission to Europe—a rogue operation—that must remain a secret from the world and the newly elected President gives him a queasy feeling. He has been on ethically flimsy missions before but this could be considered treason if they are discovered.

The Soviet Union has collapsed and the once stable union is now split into multiple countries—countries that hold non-conventional weapons—weapons of mass destruction—and the fear is that these weapons of death will fall into the wrong hands. Tom's mission is to gather Intel and monitor for any sign of these weapons coming onto the black market. The mission is "unofficial".The legal restraints that apply to the CIA will not apply to Tom's group and the director will not acknowledge their mission.

Tom leads an elite group of agents to Europe, and as they are setting up the operation, a rumor surfaces that a major Soviet Weapon is for sale. Although their cover is still shaky, Tom orders his team to investigate the sale. When three of his agents are captured by remnants of the KGB searching for the same weapon, the mission is in jeopardy. Tom orders a rescue operation to retrieve his agents—a risky venture that will either succeed or doom his mission before it even begins.